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The day after my daughter Sophie was born, I started calling licensed daycare centres to inquire about space in a year?s time. In Toronto, you?re supposed to cross this task off the list pretty much the moment the second line appears on the pregnancy test, but with my history of anxiety (and my family?s Italian superstition), I just couldn?t do it that early. Exhausted, holding my newborn in my arms, I heard ?the waiting list is currently 18 months long? over and over. (There are only enough licensed spots for 20 percent of Canadian children, even though 46 percent of families need some sort of daily care, outside of having family members to pitch in. Licensed spaces are at a premium.) But I put her on the lists anyway, and my husband and I started to research private at-home daycares as alternatives. After touring a handful of homes and checking more than a few references, we found a fit. The proprietor was a young mom of two who had leased a second apartment in her building to run a centre-like home daycare. She had just three full-time kids in addition to her own. The daycare was cozy and clean, and she showed us program plans that included her policies, the menu and daily outings to neighbourhood parks and attractions. She provided police record checks for herself and her husband, as well as her part-time staff member. She offered flexible and drop-in hours, plus evening babysitting (with enough notice). I wondered why we?d even considered a larger place t...